June felt non-stop with busy-ness. Ella finally finished her A Level exams, only for Lola to immediately launch into sitting her Year 10 GCSE Mocks. The month-long glorious heatwave (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am solar-powered and the sunshine & warmth nourishes me more than I can ever possibly explain) has seen me devouring Calippo ice lollies at my desk; developing interesting tan lines on my feet; and ditching my trusty jeans in favour of dresses and skirts.
There have been a seemingly infinite number of medical appointments, vehicular appointments and school appointments to remember to show up for – everything was written down in three different places AND set as reminders on my phone so hopefully I didn’t forget anything. It’s been a bit intense, so right at the end of the month the girls and I escaped for a few days to somewhere we’ve never been to before in an attempt to reset ourselves. It turned out to be slightly less relaxing than I’d hoped thanks to an unexpected trip to A&E on our last night, but all three of the girls have asked to go back again next year so I’m calling it a win.
Here’s a little bit of life lately, throughout June…
The end of peony season – I can never resist photographing these beautiful blooms
BOOKS
Reading has taken me all over the world this month – from Japan to Cornwall to Wales to Iceland – via a mixture of translated fiction, a memoir, non-fiction and a travel guide. An eclectic collection chosen purely by what I felt in the mood to read next (with a little bit of practicality/research purposes thrown in for good measure).
Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is beautifully translated from it’s original Japanese. I found it to be a really interesting concept – four intersecting stories and multiple characters, each time-travelling to a point of their choosing in their past or future at a magical cafe. There are certain rules that have to be followed and they can’t change anything that has happened/is yet to happen but they are able to gain new learnings or insights. It’s quite similar to a therapeutic technique I often use with my clients, which is, I suspect, why I enjoyed it so much. It was a fascinating insight into Japanese culture too, which I know very little about. I could tell it was a translated text but it gave the setting and context extra authenticity and meaning. There are more books in the series and I’m intrigued about what stories they might hold.
Continuing with the Japanese theme, The Way Of The Fearless Writer by Beth Kempton was up next. I am determined to start writing properly again – I set up a Substack eighteen months ago with the intention of sharing some more personal words that go deeper than what I share here, and am still yet to actually publish anything. (Please feel free to subscribe anyway – I’ll get there eventually!). I’ve been really struggling to find my words and I wanted something that might nudge me to get going with it. I enjoy all of Beth’s books, newsletters and Substack essays, I like the methods by which she teaches. I find her presence and way of being in the world very calming, and her use of Japanese philosophy and language to inform her teachings is intriguing. I figured this book might be something to draw inspiration from. It now has lots of turned down corners and underlined sentences (sometimes whole paragraphs) – I found the way she organised it and interwove her own stories and memories into the format very interesting. I’ll be returning to it in the future for sure.
After finally getting to see The Salt Path at the cinema this month (see below), I wanted to know what happened after their 630 mile journey around the South West Coast Path ended. The Wild Silence, by Raynor Winn, documents the next stage in her and her husband’s lives in Cornwall, as well as giving more of the backstory of how they met. I thoroughly enjoyed it – it fascinates me how life can literally change in an instant, whether through your own choices or from decisions taken out of your hands. The resilience they’ve shown is inspiring. And the Iceland section was unexpected!
Seeing as we were headed to a new-to-us country this month I figured I needed to keep up my tradition of getting the appropriate Lonely Planet guide to add to my collection. There was only a very small section in Lonely Planet Wales for the area we went to on the North Coast (which honestly surprised me, I thought there would be a lot more as there are so many things to do there) but it was very useful to know a few tips in advance. And of course I read through other sections too because there is SO much more of Wales that I now want to explore.
The aesthetically colour co-ordinated covers of the four books I read this month were entirely accidental, I promise
FILMS
I finally made it to the cinema to see The Salt Path, having read the book back in April . I’d heard mixed reviews – some people said it was mediocre, some thought it was wonderful. I went in open-minded – I loved the book (and I know that films rarely live up to the book), but I think Gillian Anderson is a fantastic actress and, well, it’s set in Cornwall so I knew the cinematography would be spectacular. On balance it’s safe to say that I was hopeful I’d at least stay awake for the whole thing (which, for me nowadays, is a sign of a good movie).
The verdict? I really enjoyed it. I shed a few tears; I thought that Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson were both incredible; I immediately wanted to return to Cornwall because I haven’t been since 2023 and I miss it; and it was just…really wholesome. A story about love and resilience and determination and following the path that you know is right for you even if others don’t understand it. There were a lot of things from the book that were missed out of the film of course – it would be impossible to include every single detail – but the parts that were kept in absolutely held the essence of the story. It’s definitely worth a watch if you get the chance.
LIFE LATELY…
I took a little day trip to Banbury in Oxfordshire to go and see the Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition. It wasn’t quite the same as when it’s been on display in London in previous years, but nevertheless I enjoyed wandering around, and some of the images were breathtakingly good. I had a couple of firm favourites. From there I went on to spend the rest of the weekend with my Mum and Stepdad. We had a long walk along a local canal followed by a cuppa in a cafe, and we went out for dinner to celebrate Father’s Day as well.
A walk along the canal with my Mum and Stepdad
It’s been a month of endings. The end of exams for all three girls (finally!). The end of the first year of both college and a netball league that Mimi has been taking part in, which meant an awards ceremony for her to attend to celebrate some of her teammates achievements. And the end of college (and compulsory education) forever for Ella! The two years she’s spent there studying her A Levels have seemed to go so fast in comparison to the endless days of primary school and the long, hard slog of high school.
June has also been a month of firsts. Ella and I headed to a market town in the Peak District to meet up with a photography friend of mine, Kirsty. We’ve been friends online for numerous years, she helped me put together my ClickPro application (and finally get accepted), but we’ve never met in person before – this was the first time ever. Both Ella and Kirsty’s eldest daughter are heading to the same university in September – we figured it would be a good idea for them to meet too, so they each have a friendly face when they arrive and embark on their new adventure. It was as if we’d all known each other forever – we sat in a pink cafe, ate chocolate ice cream and talked non-stop for almost three hours.
Me and Ella, and Kirsty and her daughter
To celebrate all of us surviving exam season, I took the girls on a mini road trip to North Wales for a long weekend – our first time visiting Wales on purpose (we’ve only ever been accidentally before, but that’s a story for another day!). The area we were in was beautiful – we stayed in Rhos On Sea, visited Conwy and Llandudno, collected shells on the beach, played crazy golf, ate ice cream and, as previously mentioned, had an unexpected midnight dash to A&E (everyone is fine now thank goodness). It was an adventure, that’s for sure!
Road trip!
Overlooking Llandudno Pier
Chapter six of 2025 is now closed and we are halfway through the year. The solstice has been and gone and there are two months of summer still ahead of us. We don’t have much planned in beyond making preparations for uni and recharging our respective batteries for whatever comes next. Ordinarily I’d hate having empty days stretching out ahead of us, but this year I’m quite looking forward to it.
I hope that you found plenty of joyful moments throughout June and that you’ve got lots to look forward to in July.
With love,
Chloe x
